Trump targets book
President’s threats defied; ‘Fire and Fury’ hits market today
President Donald Trump threatens legal action in an effort to block a new book portraying him as a volatile and ill-equipped chief executive. It will be published today.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump mounted a legal attack Thursday on a new book portraying him as a volatile and ill-equipped chief executive, but the publisher rebuffed his demand to halt its release and defiantly moved up official publication to Friday because of soaring interest.
In an 11-page letter, the president’s lawyer said the book, “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,” by Michael Wolff, as excerpted in a magazine article, includes false statements about Trump that “give rise to claims for libel” that could result in “substantial monetary damages and punitive damages.”
“Mr. Trump hereby demands that you immediately cease and desist from any further publication, release or dissemination of the book, the article, or any excerpts or summaries of either of them, to any person or entity, and that you issue a full and complete retraction and apology to my client as to all statements made about him in the book and article that lack competent evidentiary support,” the letter said.
‘National discourse’
Undeterred, Henry Holt and Co., the publisher, announced that rather than desist, it would make the book available for sale starting at 9 a.m. Friday rather than wait for its original release date on Tuesday.
“We see ‘Fire and Fury’ as an extraordinary contribution to our national discourse, and are proceeding with the publication of the book,” the company said in a statement.
The book angered Trump in part by quoting Steve Bannon, his former chief strategist, making derogatory comments about the president’s children.
Bannon was quoted as saying that Donald Trump Jr. had been “treasonous” and “unpatriotic” for meeting with Russians during the 2016 campaign and that Ivanka Trump was “dumb as a brick.” Trump fired back Wednesday, saying that Bannon had “lost his mind” and had “nothing to do with me or my presidency.”
Bannon, who had stayed in touch with Trump sporadically after being pushed out of the White House last summer, sought to smooth over the rift during his Breitbart News radio show Wednesday night.
When a caller said that Trump had “made a huge mistake, Steve, bashing you like he did,” Bannon brushed it aside. “The president of the United States is a great man,” Bannon said. “You know I support him day in and day out, whether going through the country giving the ‘Trump Miracle’ speech or on the show or on the website.”
The president cited those comments Thursday when asked by reporters if Bannon had betrayed him. “I don’t know,” Trump said. “He called me a great man last night so, you know, he obviously changed his tune pretty quick.”
Trump is furious about Wolff ’s account and unwilling to let it go, according to advisers.
Through a long career in real estate and entertainment, Trump has repeatedly threatened lawsuits against authors, journalists and others who angered him, but often has not followed through, and it was unclear whether he would in this case.
No. 1 on Amazon list
Wolff did not reply to a request for comment, but Wednesday night he said by email that he was “wholly comfortable with my numerous sources.”
The book, which quickly shot up to No. 1 on Amazon’s bestseller list after articles about it Wednesday, presents Trump as an unengaged candidate and president who grew bored when an aide tried to explain the Constitution to him and refuses to read even one-page briefings.
Various advisers to the president are reported to have called him an “idiot,” a “dope” or “dumb as dirt.” And Melania Trump, the president’s wife, is described as being so unhappy about the prospect of life in the White House that she was in tears on election night.
In separate statements, the White House on Wednesday called the book “trashy tabloid fiction” that is “filled with false and misleading accounts,” and first lady Melania Trump disputed the characterizations of her views.